- I have an existing vCenter server (v5.0) with two existing ESXi servers.
- I recently installed ESXi v5.1 on two new servers.
- I configured their hostnames, IPs, DNS, gateway, etc. and both pass their management network test.
- I can also ping them both from my machine by both ip and hostname.
- I can login to the local machines just fine from the console using "root" and a password that is well-known to me.
In my existing vCenter, when I attempt to add the new server to a cluster, I receive the error "A general system error occurred: Timed waiting for vpxa to start" — and the specific event listed is "cannot connect [myservername]: incorrect user name or password."
- I have tried adding the server with and without a FQDN
- I've tried with a license key and in evaluation mode
- I've tried those steps for both of the new servers I installed ESXi onto.
Not sure where to even begin here. Hoping to avoid a support ticket; thanks in advance for any help you can give!
Best Answer
You must upgrade vCenter to 5.1 in order to add a host with ESXi 5.1. No vCenter version prior to 5.1 supports ESXi 5.1.
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